31 October 2013

Russell Brand and Noel Gallagher are planning to open a talent bar in north London to showcase the skills of upcoming musicians.

The comedian and the former Oasis star want to give upcoming artists the opportunity to showcase their skills in a new private members spot in north London.

It's thought the pair are hoping to replicate the success of arty club Boogaloo in Highgate which is known for its trendy atmosphere and live music.

A source told the Daily Star newspaper: ''The plan is to start a private members forum that will attract young professionals and upcoming artists to show off their talents. It was Russell's idea but Noel is fully behind it.''

The duo have been friends for years with Russell even delivering a speech at Noel's wedding to Sara McDonald in 2011.

Russell shared a table with Noel at the GQ Awards in September, where the 'Get Him to the Greek' star picked up the Oracle of the Year award, and he managed to make a jibe at the singer during the ceremony.

He said: ''Oracle? That's got to be a made up award so I would turn up. It was also a great source of news when I was growing up, alongside Teletext.

''I would like to thank that pixelated news source and say to Noel, good luck being more offensive than that son!''

Metallica have admitted that they are fans of Justin Bieber after the pop star was filmed covering their song 'Fade To Black' at a recent concert.

Video footage of Bieber performing an impromptu acoustic cover of the song was revealed earlier this year. In the 15-second clip, Bieber is seeing playing air guitar while he tries to recreate the guitar solo from Metallica's 1984 original with his voice. Bieber is accompanied by his musical director Dan Kanter on guitar.

Asked by Kerrang! how they feel about having Bieber as a fan, James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich said they were happy with Hetfield stating: "Are we Beliebers? Yes."

Elaborating on the subject of Bieber, Ulrich adds: "Is it possible to have respect for him without being a Belieber? I think the kid's really talented and obviously to go through what he's going through at that early age must be a mindfuck. So the fact that he still goes out there and does it, I admire that and I think he's super talented, so I guess I am kind of a Belieber. If he likes 'One', and Liam Gallagher likes him, OK, there you go."

Bieber has previously revealed that he is a big fan of early Metallica, singling out 'Fade To Black' and 1988's 'One' as his favourite tracks. "Those are my jams," he told GQ last year (2012).

Earlier this month (October 15) Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich revealed that the band are keen to play Glastonbury, saying they are "ready to go" as and when organiser Michael Eavis needs them.

Official Charts Company release list of big sellers from the fallow years of vinyl.

Considering that figures for UK vinyl sales in 2013 have reached a reported 12 year high, it’s not altogether surprising that all but two of the 20 biggest selling records of the last two decades listed by the Official Charts Company and NME were released in the preceding 8 years.

Leading the way with first and second place are Oasis, whose What’s The Story Morning Glory? pips Definitely Maybe to the top spot, with Portishead’s Dummy taking the final podium place. Although The Beatles also figure strongly, the list is a pretty succinct document of the more adventurous end of the mid-90′s mainstream, dominated as it is by Brit pop (Oasis, Blur, Pulp) and its Mod and Madchester fore-runners (Paul Weller, Stone Roses), Bristolian trip hop (Massive Attack, Portishead) and The Prodigy.

While it is no surprise to see Radiohead’s The King Of Limbs sneak into the chart as the only LP released post-2001, the next most recent entrant is Travis, whose The Invisible Band peaks at a heady forth spot. (via NME)

25 October 2013

Bonehead, the guitarist who left Oasis during the making of 'Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants' in 1999, says playing with Liam last Friday (October 18) felt as if they'd never been apart.

The estranged bandmates reunited for a one-off performance at A Night For Jon Brookes, the tribute to the late Charlatans drummer, who died of brain cancer in August.

Speaking to NME, Bonehead – real name Paul Arthurs – said: "[Liam and I] said beforehand 'This is going to be weird,' but once I plugged my amp in it was as if we'd never been apart. I've matured and Liam’s more professional too… Liam seemed the same Liam. He looked great and sang great."

The performance has naturally sparked further talk of a fully-fledged Oasis comeback, but Bonehead has mixed feelings. “If someone asked me to play Glastonbury next year, I’d do it for nothing, but I think it’d be too soon, really. Oasis have only just split up.”

Bonehead said he harboured no resentment towards Oasis after leaving the group. "I didn’t miss Oasis after I left, as we hit great heights during my time. I stayed in the background as a fan, going to their gigs," he said. The guitarist now plays in the duo Parlour Flames.

At the charity event, organised by The Charlatans, Liam's Beady Eye played Oasis tracks 'Live Forever' and 'Columbia' with Bonehead on guitar. He was filling in for guitarist Gem Archer, who is recovering from a fractured skull.

To read more from Bonehead, pick up a copy of this week's NME, on newsstands now and available digitally.

Original member and best selling author of Oasis - The Truth, Tony McCarroll will be joined by the writers of the new book Supersonic - Personal Situations With Oasis, Stuart Deabill & Ian Snowball in a rare book signing and a Q&A at the legendary Rock and Roll Hotel Pelirocco in Brigton.

24 October 2013

Former Oasis rocker Paul 'Bonehead' Arthurs has praised his ex-bandmate Liam Gallagher after they reunited onstage at a tribute to late The Charlatans star Jon Brookes.

The guitarist, who quit the Wonderwall hitmakers in 1999, joined singer Gallagher to perform two tracks from the band's heyday at the special concert in London earlier this month (Oct13).

Following their live renditions of Live Forever and Columbia, Arthurs told NME magazine, "Once I plugged my amp in it was as if we'd never been apart. We've both matured. Liam's off home to bed now, so maybe he's more professional these days."

The gig was held as a tribute to Charlatans drummer Brookes, who died of brain cancer in August (13), aged 44.

Nah, not really. It was a great time in history. The grip of Thatcherism was being smashed. New Labour had been brilliant in opposition. When Tony Blair spoke, his words seemed to speak to people, young people. Call me naive but I felt something – I’m not quite sure what it was, but I felt it all the same. I do regret that picture at No 10 that night, though . . . I can still smell the cheese!

Would you go for tea with David Cameron?

Maybe. He looks like he could do with a good strong cup of Yorkshire. I don’t mind him, to be honest. No one actually takes him seriously, do they? All that “call me Dave” gear – hilarious.

Which politicians do you admire/despise?

Not many. What’s to admire, anyway – the way they fiddle their expenses? If I have to, though, I’d say: Winston Churchill, for his name alone. Dennis Skinner, because he absolutely takes no shit off the toffs, and Tony Blair because he played guitar and smoked a bit of weed (allegedly!). Somewhat predictably, the despise list is a bit longer. I won’t go into it here, I haven’t got all day, but in the interests of fairness and balance I’ll say . . . off the top of my head: Diane Abbott, [Ken] Clarke, Portillo, Boris-f***ing-Johnson, that little ginger bitch that ceremoniously gave back the money she’d fiddled during the expenses scandal, Norman Tebbit! Peter Mandelson! George-f***ing-Osborne. If I don’t stop now, this could literally go on longer than Be Here Now.

Who would you vote for if there were an election tomorrow?

I’m not sure I would vote. I didn’t feel last time that there was anything left to vote for. Doesn’t seem that anything has changed, ergo . . . ?

Do you think you pay your fair amount of tax as a rich person?

No. I think we should return to the Sixties when we paid 80 per cent tax so government can piss it up the wall on the war machine and bailing out the banks and funding ludicrous “initiatives” to help “stimulate” the economy. The economy that successive governments oversaw the destruction of. I think I pay just about enough, thanks . . . and you?

Do you believe in God?

Sadly no. And I don’t believe in the devil either. Or ghosts. Or Father Christmas, for that matter.

How do you feel when you see politicians at public events?

Public events I don’t have a problem with. Although when you see them backstage at Glastonbury you are thinking: “Really, just f*** off.” I’m amazed “Dave” hasn’t popped down for the weekend to get down with the middle classes. When I see them at (for want of a better term) showbiz events, that really winds me up. We were at the GQ Awards recently and the gaff was crawling with them; they were even giving speeches and getting awards. Boris-f***ing-Johnson got an award for “Politician of the Year”. I was speechless an award like that even exists, and he was boasting – in a Nineties rock-star full-of-cheng style – at how brilliant he must be due to the fact that he’d won the same award three times. Will.i.(haven’t got a f***ing clue) Hague was there while that crisis in Syria was blowing up.

I genuinely thought these people would have more important things to be getting on with. Clearly, scratching the back of said magazine and its editor takes precedence over all. Shameful behaviour. Though not as shameful as ours, eh, Rusty?

Did you trust politicians in the Seventies and Eighties more than contemporary figures such as Osborne or Ed Balls?

You could trust them in the sense that you knew exactly where you stood with them. Neil Kinnock, for example: no grey areas. He knew who he was and what he stood for. Thatcher, even. We knew she was the enemy. She hated us; we hated her. All was right in the world.

This new generation are media opportunists, shilly-shallying flag-wavers, the musical equivalent of Enya. If they were a colour, they’d be beige.

I have no doubt that George Osborne would’ve practised his weeping the night before Thatcher’s funeral. He might be the most slappable man in England, the kind of man that would watch Coronation Street or EastEnders to get a perspective on the working class.

Ed Balls can quite frankly lick mine on his way to and from obscurity.

Whom will you tell your sons to vote for?

Politics will surely be dead as a f***ing parrot by the time the two young lords get the vote.

Liam and Noel Gallagher will mend their feud and re-form Oasis, their older brother has told an Irish documentary.

Noel Gallagher walked out on the band after a backstage spat with his younger brother in August 2009.

But the squabbling siblings' older brother, Paul, has said he believes Irish audiences haven't seen the last of the Britpop band.

And he predicted they will call truce and put the band back together. He said: "I think they've got unfinished business. I think Noel regrets walking out the way he did.

FEELING

"Liam was always going to carry on and do his own thing. I've got a funny feeling something might happen in the future, in two years time, maybe three."

He went on: "All it takes is two guys to say, 'You know what, I'm sorry, but I love you.' That's all it takes, it's not hard. It's easy."

Paul features extensively in tonight's edition of Guth, a TG4 documentary series which explores the Irish roots and influence of some of the world's top musicians.

The contributors to the show said the Irish roots of Oasis' five original members was integral to their success.

The Gallagher brothers, whose mother Peggy hails from Charlestown, Co Mayo, and father Tommy, from Duleek, Co Meath, had "music running through their family", according to the programme.

Paul said: "My mother reckons the music comes from our granny. She was apparently a great whistler and our father played the accordion and the guitar. There was always music in our family." The oldest Gallagher brother also spoke of the brothers' tough upbringing in Manchester, recalling how their mother used to make all their clothes.

He said: "We knew we were different when we came back to school and all the other kids would have pristine jumpers from the stores and we'd be in our knitted jumpers."

Click here to see a number of pictures of The Charlatans were joined by a number of special guests at the Royal Albert Hall on 18 October 2013 for an unforgettable evening in celebration of Jon Brookes, the band’s late drummer who died on 13 August 2013.

The Beady Eye frontman has had some private lessons in karate at his home in Hampstead, London.

A source told the Daily Star newspaper: ''It's been a tough year for Liam with his marriage break-up. He is finding martial arts therapeutic, and is training himself like a combat soldier. It helps him release his pent-up aggression and is great for his fitness too. He's actually in better shape than ever.

''Next he thinks he might try out boxing. And if he's good enough he's told pals he may see what he can do in the ring by organising a proper fight.''

The 'Inhaler' singer insists there aren't enough hellraisers like the former Oasis man anymore and he wishes his peers would start partying more and enjoy being in a band.

Speaking at the Q Awards in London on Monday (21.10.13), Yannis said: ''I like Liam, I met him before and he was charmingly offensive and I like people like him. You look at the 90s and British guitar bands were mouthy. Now it's pre-prescribed dullness. It needs to change ... I've already had a scotch so I'm on my way. You can always rely on me to try and stir things up but rock 'n' roll is so square these days. Everyone's polite and groomed and media trained and they're worried about their careers. That's the problem.''

Although Yannis respects Liam, he claims the Beady Eye rocker still deserves a punch for his idiotic behaviour.

When asked if he'd be looking to start a feud with Liam's long-time rival Robbie Williams at the ceremony - which was held at the Grosvenor House Hotel - the rocker replied: ''I'd rather kick off with Liam than Robbie. What's Robbie ever done? Liam's the one that needs a hiding.''

Yannis, 27, and his bandmates took home the Best Live Act gong at the awards ceremony, beating Arctic Monkeys, Mumford & Sons, Muse and The Stone Roses, to the accolade.

When asked by BANG Showbiz where the five-piece would be keeping their trophy, Yannis joked: ''The bog! You can have it in your bog if you want.''

22 October 2013

Click here to see a number of pictures of The Charlatans were joined by a number of special guests at the Royal Albert Hall on 18 October 2013 for an unforgettable evening in celebration of Jon Brookes, the band’s late drummer who died on 13 August 2013.

Listen back as Gordon doesn't get off too lightly during a hour at the hands of the elder Gallagher - including tales of drunken adventures, hiding porn from his wife, more drunken adventures and kitchen based gifts (and Noel Gallagher gets Gangnam Style played on XFM)

Noel Gallagher and Paul Weller gave a fan a shock when they pulled over to ask for directions during a road trip.

The former The Jam frontman offered Gallagher a lift to visit his ex-Oasis bandmate Gem Archer after the guitarist suffered a broken leg and a fractured skull this summer (13).

But neither rock icon knew how to get to their destination, so they surprised a pedestrian by asking for directions.

Gallagher tells British radio station Xfm, "Weller just threw the satnav (GPS system) at me and said, 'Do you know how to work it?' Obviously I said 'no' - I don't even drive.

I'm a world famous rock star, I've got people and a beautiful wife to do that for me. So off we go, with no idea of the route. Driving around north London, with me trying to tell him the right direction. He was cutting people up and calling them all sorts. We stopped to ask this lad if he knew where to go. He nearly had a heart attack when he saw us in the car."

If you want to guarantee sales for a new book about Hampstead, featuring half its population is probably a good place to start.

It’s also a sure-fire way to get a healthy turnout at your launch, as the writer of Hampstead’s very own answer to Private Eye, the Hampstead Village Voice, can attest.

The launch of Hampstead Faces Volume 1, the magazine’s book spin-off, was held upstairs at Waterstones in Hampstead High Street and attracted a large assemblage of local folk, including many who featured in the book’s pages.

A quirky snapshot of Hampstead life, it comprises nearly 100 pages of photos of the people who help make the place what it is, alongside written profiles of each penned by Village Voice writer Emmanuel ‘Mustafa’ Goldstein.

The likes of Jonathan Ross, Liam Gallagher, Russell Brand and Patrick Vieira, most of whom Mr Goldstein has apparently spotted roaming the streets and promptly accosted for a photo, are included alongside others who are less internationally-renowned, but just as familiar to many Hampstead denizens.

These include Gabrielle du Ploy, owner of Zebra One Gallery in Perrin’s Walk, “Rainbow” George Weiss, who is something like Hampstead’s answer to Screaming Lord Sutch, and the Ham&High’s long-serving photographer Nigel Sutton.

Mr Goldstein, who has been known to have the odd pop at the Ham&High, said the book came out of the regular Hampstead Faces page in his magazine, which is approaching its 20th edition.

“Over a period of time, quite a few famous people appeared in it,” he said,

“What’s nice about that page, you might have Rob the fisherman and Russell Brand on the same page.

“It’s a nice leveller, everyone gets their there little bit.”

He added: “That’s the idea of the Village Voice – to get some community cohesion, because Hampstead is becoming a bit of a Monopoly board for developers and the super rich.

“It’s not traditionally like that. The dynamic of Hampstead has changed a lot, it’s become a bit elitist. But there is still a strong community here and the idea is to try and keep that going.”

"Lord Don't Slow Me Down" is a song by Oasis. The song was released as a download-only single on October 21, 2007 in promotion of the release of Oasis' rockumentary of the same name, Lord Don't Slow Me Down.

On October 29, the song debuted at number ten in the UK Singles Chart, becoming Oasis' 21st UK top 10. It is also their 21st top ten single in a row. It is also the first single by Oasis not to reach the top 4 since 1994's Cigarettes & Alcohol.

In October 2006 the first part of the song was used in a preview of the band's movie. Written and sung by Noel Gallagher and recorded during the Don't Believe the Truth sessions, Gallagher described it as being "one of the best things, like The Who, The Yardbirds and the Jeff Beck Group combined, and it's got two drum solos on it!" The entire song leaked into the internet just a few days before the video was uploaded on YouTube and the song was played on the radio, on 1 October. The song was a probable track to be included on the band's last album, 2005's Don't Believe the Truth, but was removed from the final track list by Noel Gallagher, as he thought he sang on too many songs on the record. In May 2008 an unreleased studio version with Liam Gallagher on lead vocals was leaked over internet fansites.

19 October 2013

Liam Gallagher was joined on stage by former Oasis guitarist Paul 'Bonehead' Arthurs for first time in 14 years at 'A Night For Jon Brookes' tribute concert.

The two ex-bandmates played with Andy Bell, Chris Sharrock and Jay Mehler from Liam's current band Beady Eye and performed Oasis classics 'Live Forever' and 'Columbia' at the show held in memory of the late drummer at The Royal Albert Hall in London on Friday night (18.10.13).

Regular Beady Eye guitarist Gem Archer - who is recovering from a fractured skull and broken leg - was among the audience watching and was seen using a crutch to walk.

Later in the evening, Liam, Andy and Bonehead joined The Charlatans on stage to perform a cover of George Harrison's 'My Sweet Lord' which Liam dedicated to Jon's widow Debbie.

Earlier, Manic Street Preachers frontman James Dean Bradfield played a solo acoustic set made up of 'Motorcycle Emptiness', 'A Design for Life' and 'If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next'.

James paid tribute to Jon on stage, saying: ''I met Jon a fair few times over the years, I won't get too deep ... but he was f***ing beautiful and the boy had groove!''
The Charlatans singer Tim Burgess played a short set with assembled 'friends'; Freddie Cowan and Arni Arnason from The Vaccines, New Order's Stephen Morris and Gillian Gilbert, Mumford & Sons' Winston Marshall and James Walbourn from The Pretenders.

They played three songs including a cover of Joy Division's 'Love Will Tear Us Apart'.
The Charlatans headlined the evening with former Verve drummer Pete Salisbury replacing Jon, who tragically died from brain cancer in August aged just 44 after battling the illness for three years.

They played a selection of their greatest hits such as 'North Country Boy', 'The Only One I Know', 'How High' and 'One To Another'.

Introducing a moving rendition of 'My Beautiful Friend', singer Tim said: ''I think we can all guess who this is for.''

They closed with their usual encore of 'Sproston Green'.

Andy Bell took to his Twitter page today (19.10.13) to share his pride at being part of the special concert.

He wrote: ''Morning all. Wow thanks to @thecharlatans @Tim_Burgess @markcharlatan for putting on a great event for Jon.

''A pleasure to be part of it ... If I say so myself, @liamgallagher @Beady_Eye & @ParlourFlames were on fire! Loved @Tim_Burgess & friends doing ''Love will tear us apart''too (sic)''

Tim Burgess also took to Twitter to thank everyone involved in the concert and the fans who went.

He tweeted: ''A huge thank you to everyone who came to last night's gig, those who performed & all the lovely people who worked on it.''

All proceeds from the show went to The Brain Tumour Charity, of which The Charlatans are now patrons.

Bonehead along with members of Mumford & Sons, New Order and Manic Street Preachers joined charity celebration.

The Charlatans headlined A Night For Jon Brookes, a tribute concert for their late drummer, at London's Royal Albert Hall last night (October 18).

The evening started with Birmingham band Dumb, followed by Tim & Friends, a line-up featuring New Order's Stephen Morris and Gillian Gilbert, Mumford and Sons' Winston Marshall, The Vaccines' Freddie Cowan and Arni Arnason, and The Pretenders' James Walbourn, with Tim Burgess on vocals.

They performed New Order's 'Love Vigilantes', The Vaccines' 'Melody Calling' and finally Joy Division's 'Love Will Tear Us Apart', with Burgess explaining how the band came to be. "I asked The Vaccines, but the singer was on holiday. I asked New Order, but the singer was on holiday. That wasn't going to stop us, so I said I'd sing."

Manic Street Preachers' James Dean Bradfield was up next, delivering a three-song acoustic set comprising 'Motorcycle Emptiness', 'A Design For Life' and 'If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next'. Speaking between songs, Bradfield said: "I don't want to get too deep because there are people here who knew Jon a lot better than I. But we met a fair few times over the years, and he was always fucking beautiful. And the boy had groove."

Liam & Friends came next, essentially Beady Eye without injured guitarist Gem Archer who, incidentally, was in the audience, walking with a crutch but otherwise looking to be in good shape. Instead of Archer, former Oasis guitarist Paul 'Bonehead' Arthurs performed with the band as they ripped through Oasis songs 'Live Forever' and 'Columbia'.

Finally, The Charlatans came to the stage, with former The Verve drummer Pete Salisbury filling in for Brookes. Speaking to NME before the concert, Charlatans bassist Martin Blunt said: "There was a tour when Jon was ill and wasn't going to be able to play. We asked who he wanted to replace him, and his first choice was Pete Salisbury."

Blunt added: "There is one special song in the setlist, for Jon, but I've found since he passed that every song has taken on a new meaning. Lyrics that I never thought about before have suddenly become really poignant. The whole evening had to be a celebration. A big send-off, as well as a big thank you to everyone for their support and a chance to raise money for an under-funded charity. We've learned since Jon was ill that brain tumours are being detected a lot more, but research, care systems and funding is severely lacking."

The band's singer Tim Burgess said he'd been "amazed" by the support from musicians following Brookes's death. He said: "I'll think about Jon during every line of every song."

They began their set with 'Forever', and moved through some of their best-known songs including 'North Country Boy', 'Just Lookin'', 'The Only One I Know', 'One To Another' and 'How High'. There was also a particularly moving version of 'My Beautiful Friend', before which Burgess said: "I think we can all guess who this is for."

After 'How High', three of The Charlatans left the stage, leaving guitarist Mark Collins and keyboard player Tony Rogers with Liam & Friends, who returned for a version of George Harrison's 'My Sweet Lord', dedicated by Gallagher to "Jon's missus Debbie". Finally The Charlatans returned for their traditional encore of 'Sproston Green'.

Jon Brookes passed away in August, aged 44. He was first diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2010 and underwent several operations and treatment for the condition. Proceeds from the night went to The Brain Tumour Charity, of which The Charlatans are now patrons. The charity say more than 9,000 people are diagnosed with a brain tumour each year in the UK, with the condition being the biggest cancer killer among those under 40. The charity have also set up The Jon Brookes Fund as a lasting tribute to the drummer.

18 October 2013

'I’ll be thinking of Jon Brookes in every line of every song,' says Charlatans singer Tim Burgess.

The line-up for the benefit concert to honour The Charlatans' late drummer Jon Brookes, taking place in London today, has been bolstered by the addition of members of Mumford & Sons and the Pretenders.

The Vaccines' guitarist Freddie Cowan recruited Mumfords banjo player Winston Marshall and Pretenders guitarist James Walbourne to back him and Vaccines bassist Arni Arnason at A Night For Jon Brookes, which takes place at London’s Royal Albert Hall on Friday. Proceeds go to The Brain Tumour Charity; Brookes died of brain cancer in August.

Charlatans singer Tim Burgess, who is hosting and fronting the celebration, told NME: "The Vaccines all wanted to take part, but Justin Young and their drummer Pete Robertson are on holiday, so Freddie kindly got some friends to help back me up. I love The Vaccines, it'll be great to sing a couple of their songs."

Also on the bill are Manic Street Preachers' singer James Dean Bradfield, New Order's Stephen Morris and Gillian Gilbert, a Chemical Brothers DJ set, Birmingham band Dumb.

Beady Eye will be joined by original Oasis rhythm guitarist Bonehead, appearing on stage with Liam for the first time since he left Oasis in 1999. He replaces Beady Eye's Gem Archer, who is recovering from a fractured skull.

Burgess said he's been "amazed" by the support from musicians following Brookes' death. He said: “I'll think about Jon during every line of every song. It’s a celebration of Jon’s life, and I’m going into the show thinking that I won’t struggle through any of the songs.

"Thinking about Jon doesn’t make me break down, it makes me straighten my back instead. I’m a Manchester United fan, and having Jon in my band was like having Roy Keane in my team."

According to the frontman, only Johnny Marr – who plays at the nearby Roundhouse on Friday – and Julian Cope – who has a deadline of Monday to finish writing a new book – were unavailable to play at the benefit. "The number of musicians who loved Jon has touched me, and Jon's family are blown away," he added.

Burgess also revealed that The Charlatans began work on a new album with Brookes shortly before his death, which will be released next year. "We started recording because Jon wanted to be involved on it,” said Burgess. "The more Jon’s cancer progressed, the more he wanted to be involved. We had to tell him sometimes he couldn’t do it – in his head, Jon felt fine, but he physically couldn’t play. But, whenever he could, we’d get Jon into play."

Burgess compared the album, which will be the band’s 12th, to their 1990 debut 'Some Friendly'. He said: "An album is only good if it’s not a struggle, and there was no effort to the optimism in that record, which I think has happened in these songs too." Of the album's sound, he said: "It’s a very light-sounding record, considering what was going on. It’s inspired by the sunshine and sounds like 1960s California, brought forward to today."

Songs on the new album will include 'Emily' and 'I Would Never Leave You Ever'. The band will produce the album themselves. “It’s hard when you’ve got an allotted amount of time with a producer," said Burgess. "If we’ve got eight weeks to make something, you know it’s going to take us 10."

Liam Gallagher has said it was an easy decision to take part in a special concert in memory of The Charlatans' drummer Jon Brookes.

Mr Brookes, 44, who was diagnosed with a brain tumour three years ago, died in August.

The Charlatans will perform alongside other guests at the Royal Albert hall on Friday night in aid of The Brain Tumour Charity.

Liam Gallagher described the musician as a "good lad".

"He didn't have an ego, do you know what I mean?

"I wouldn't claim to be his best mate and that. I only met him through the gigs we've done, but every time I met him I had a splendid time."

Gallagher said he was on holiday at the time the concert was announced, but said he signed up straight away.

He will be performing alongside fellow former Oasis band mates Andy Bell, Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs and Chris Sharrock, as well as Jay Mehler, currently part of Gallagher's band Beady Eye.

'Very positive'

West Midlands indie band The Charlatans said they organised the gig as a "fitting tribute" to founding member Mr Brookes, originally from Staffordshire.

Keyboard player Tony Rogers said in some ways the event would be a tough night, when the reality of their friend's death "will hit home".

"He was always very upbeat. His illness never got on top of him, he never let it get to him. He was always very positive and never moaned," Rogers said.

"It's not like he's gone really. It's like his spirit is still there. It will be a tough one I think, but every time you think of Jon it puts a smile on your face."

The Brain Tumour Charity's chairman Andy Foote said: "One of our biggest challenges is raising awareness of the disease, because the general public are not aware of the facts and they're quite startling.

"For example, brain tumours kill more people under the age of 40 than any other cancer, yet less than 2% of funding that goes into cancer research goes into brain tumours."

Pretty Green will be hosting an auction for a signed Gibson LPJ guitar, kindly donated by Gibson Foundation. The guitar will be signed by some of the acts that play the Jon Brookes memorial gig at the Royal Albert Hall, later today.

The concert features James Dean Bradfield, Liam Gallagher and friends, members of The Vaccines and New Order, The Chemical Brothers and Dumb.

Proceeds will go to the Brain Tumour Charity in memory of Jon.

The Brain Tumour Charity is the leading charity in the UK, committed to fighting brain tumours, the biggest cancer killer of the under 40s, including children. Over 9,000 families are devastated by the diagnosis of a brain tumour every year and, unlike other cancers, survival rates have not improved in the last 40 years. Less than 2% of funding for cancer research in the UK is invested into brain tumours and The Brain Tumour Charity is determined to change this to improve survival.

Proceeds will be invested in The Brain Tumour Charity’s world-class research programme and will help to raise awareness of this devastating disease.

This is going to be a very special guitar with potentially some very exclusive signatures.

16 October 2013

One Direction? You're kidding. Coldplay? No, seriously. Here holding forth on hot topics of our times, the high-flying half of Oasis' fractious fraternity is GQ's Icon Of The Year

Ask Noel Gallagher whatever you want, and he'll tell you whatever he thinks. And upstairs at the Groucho - over three bowls of miniature sausages and a plate of chips - the 46-year-old is in full flight.

On One Direction: "F***ing idiots. Bless 'em. Bless 'em, but f*** 'em at the same time."

Danny: Noel. You're completely in charge. What's the first commandment in the Church of Gallagher? A rule we'd all have to live by?

Noel: [Long pause, thinking.] People shouldn't start work before 10 o'clock in the morning. People shouldn't work weekends unless they work in the service industry and they're getting paid double time. Thou Shalt Not Work Weekends. I don't like workaholics. Don't f***ing trust them. Why are they working? I don't trust busy c***s. That's how wars start: busy f***ers. If terrorism had a weekend off, eventually they'd have a year off. Eventually they'd go, "F*** this - blowing up shit? Football's on." Thou shalt not be arsed.

What would you ban?

I don't like litter. I like that Singapore thing. You know - you get caught dropping litter you get your head chopped off. I'd have a bin on every street corner. If you're going to buy a doughnut, eat the f***ing doughnut. Don't have a bite and then chuck it on the floor. Eat the f***ing doughnut.

Who would you ban?

The root of all that is bad in the world. All religious and political preachers.

Isn't your wife religious?

She has been known to attend church.

That's one of the first signs.

I've never seen her do it. But you know when you see these people standing on soapboxes banging on about religion or politics, or worse - when they're combining the f***ing two? Really? If you're thinking that anything written in a book 2,000 years old bears any relevance to anything these days...

What would be our Bible, then?

I only read factual books. I can't think of... I mean, novels are just a waste of f***ing time. I can't suspend belief in reality... I just end up thinking, 'This isn't f***ing true.' I like reading about things that have actually happened. I'm reading this book at the minute - The Kennedy Tapes. It's all about the Cold War, the Cuban Missile Crisis - I can get into that. Thinking, 'Wow, this actually f***ing happened, they came that close to blowing the world up!' But... what f***ing winds me up about books...

This is already the best sentence I've ever heard.

...is, like... my missus will come in with a book and it will be titled - and there's a lot of these, you can substitute any word, it's like a Rubik's Cube of shit titles - it'll be entitled The Incontinence Of Elephants. And I'll say "What's that book about?" And she'll say, "Oh it's about a girl and this load of f***ing nutters..." Right... so it's not about elephants, then? Why the f*** is it called The Incontinence Of Elephants? Another one: The Tales Of The Clumsy Beekeeper. What's that about? "Oh it's about the French Revolution." Right, f*** off. If you're writing a book about a child who's locked in a f***ing cupboard during the f***ing Second World War... he's never seen an elephant. Never mind a f***ing giraffe.

Why are album titles different? Why don't you call yours Some Songs That I've Written, then?

Because people who write and read and review books are f***ing putting themselves a tiny little bit above the rest of us who f***ing make records and write pathetic little songs for a living.

Thing is, I write books, and...

Hey. I know you write books and all that shit. I'm just saying. The winner of the Pulitzer Prize [for fiction]. What a c***. Whoever that is, has got to be. I don't get it. Book sellers, book readers, book writers, book owners - f*** all of them.

Book owners?

Yeah. And I own books! But about shit that happened. That's what I'm talking about. Fifty Shades Of Grey? Fifty shades of s****. I'm not having it. Novels... how could you read that? Do you write novels? Don't tell me you write novels.

I've written a novel.
What was it about?

About a guy who sees a girl...
Here we go. Already the shittest book of all time.

...and he finds her camera and...
But you know that doesn't happen in real life! You know that never happens! Sounds like that film about the yellow Rolls Royce.

What's the film about the yellow Rolls Royce?

It's about a yellow Rolls Royce that's passed down through the ages. Becomes a Nazi staff car. Ends up in a garage in f***ing Chippenham.

It's not exactly like that.
Please don't tell me it's called The Tale Of The F***ing Amateur Beekeeper.

It's called Squirrels In June.
You f***ing c***. You're not trying to tell me you called it Squirrels In June, are you?

No, I didn't call it that. But do you like films?
Yeah, I love films.

But films aren't real. Do you sit watching them thinking, "Oh, this didn't happen"?
Well, you've presented me with a dilemma there. But, say, my favourite film, The Good, The Bad And The Ugly... now, that might've happened. The American Civil War - that happened. I guess I don't have the chip in the brain that allows me to... like, if I was to read the book of The Good, The Bad And The Ugly, I don't want to have to invent the character Clint Eastwood plays... I want to just watch him.

You want all the work done for you.
Too f***ing right. Novels and the people who write them, like I say, are putting themselves a few rungs above the rest of us. They're purporting to be intellectual, and... for you to write a book, is for you to say, "I am better than you." My 68 million records beat your one book.

Your album's over in 45 minutes.
Yeah! Done! In and out, put the kettle on. There's just a lot of time devoted to the reviewing and reading of books. More man-hours are devoted to reading about books - not even reading books.

So, as with Hitler, books are out. What would be your idea of hell?
One of your book signings. Or actually, if someone was caught not taking it easy - "You were seen working late on a Friday!" - I would make them listen to Radio 1. Pretty f***ing dreadful. The music is... I can't get my head round pop music [right now]. It all sounds the same. It's all on the same frequency. It all seems designed to aggravate my teeth. You know music that makes your teeth hurt? There's a lack of... soul on Radio 1. I mean, what is going to be the future of chart music? I don't understand it. It's when radio stations start focus groups. They literally go outside their building and ask people walking by, "If I played you this song, what would you think?" and all that. Don't ask the man on the street! He's a c***! That's why he's the man on the street, not the man in the expensive restaurant eating f***ing mini sausages at four in the afternoon! There's great records coming out this year you're not going to hear on theradio. Temples. Jagwar Ma. Great stuff, but it's on a lower level. It's not on the battleground. You have to be in that world to hear it.

And groups like One Direction...
Banal pop music, like One Direction, say... what I think is: everybody's winning out of it. One Direction aren't working in the local f***ing Costcutter, so they're winning. The geezer who's writing the f***ing shit tunes - he's winning. He doesn't even have to leave the studio. He's got f***ing new houses coming out of his ear holes. The record company are winning - 'cos they're all getting their f***ing bonuses at Christmas. The young 12-year-old girls are winning because one day they might actually grow up to give one of them a blow job. They're all winning. No one's losing! The only people who are losing are idiots like me at 9.30 in the morning when you're trying to get the kids out the door for school, and they're f***ing murdering one of Blondie's songs.

Speaking of family, what does your mum think about you and Liam not speaking at the moment?
She's not arsed. We spoke about it once and that's it. How can you be bothered about two grown men in their forties who don't speak to each other? What's she going to do? Order me to call my brother?

Do you miss your nephews, though?
Well, I miss, I guess... when [Oasis] were together, we spent so much time touring that outside of that I never used to see anyone from the band. And I'm not really the jolly uncle type. I'm a loner. A lone wolf. I'd have made a brilliant assassin. Sniper. Sitting in a tree for four months on the off chance. I enjoyed being in a group. But I was never a part of it. I was always off to one side.

Liam was in the papers recently because he tried to ride a dog in a pub.
Liam's got a touch of the Red Indian in him when he has a drink. When the Europeans went to America, they got the Red Indians pissed and bought Alaska off them for a f***ing milk-bottle top. "Wahoo! Firewater!" There's a bit of that in Liam when he's drunk. "Wahey! Let's have a go on that dog!"

Not you, though?
I'm all right when I'm drunk. I wouldn't ride an animal though.

And in this brave new world, who would you build a statue of? Who is the Icon's icon?
It's Les Dawson. You forget how funny he f***ing was. You've heard his jokes so many times before. "Wife's run off with the bloke next door... God, I miss him." Les Dawson, man. Absolute stitches...

"There's great records coming out this year you're not going to hear on the radio," says former Oasis man.

Noel Gallagher has criticised BBC Radio 1 for not playlisting bands such as Temples and Jagwa Ma.

The comments follow on from Radio 1 music bosses describing Gallagher's music as "more at home on Radio 2" during a recent interview. Both head of music at Radio 1, George Ergatoudis, and Nigel Harding, the station's music policy director, admitted that the former Oasis member was no longer a part of their plans while making similar comments about Green Day and Robbie Williams.

Speaking to GQ, Gallagher added to his recent criticism of pop music and described Radio 1 as his idea of hell.

He said: "I don't understand it. It's when radio stations start focus groups. They literally go outside their building and ask people walking by, 'If I played you this song, what would you think?' and all that. Don't ask the man on the street! He's a cunt! That's why he's the man on the street, not the man in the expensive restaurant eating fucking mini sausages at four in the afternoon!"

Moving on to the albums and bands he feels are being unfairly overlooked, Gallagher continued: "There's great records coming out this year you're not going to hear on the radio. Temples (pictured right). Jagwar Ma. Great stuff, but it's on a lower level. It's not on the battleground. You have to be in that world to hear it."

Robbie Williams recently said he is "gutted" that he is deemed too old for the Radio 1 playlist. Quizzed about the snub by BBC Radio 4, Williams conceded that it hurts him when the station don't promote his material.